Kaitlyn Dunnett/Kathy Lynn Emerson here, this time writing about my personal Christmas traditions. A lot of the things I did in my younger days aren’t practical any more. We stopped decorating the house ages ago out of respect for our sanity—Christmas decorations, particularly Christmas trees, and cats, do not mix! I don’t bake cookies and other goodies because we aren’t the ones entertaining family and my nieces are much better at it anyway. What does that leave? Why movies and books, of course.

By the time you read this, I will already have worked my way through at least my top four Christmas favorites. I’ve heard it suggested that the ideal order for two of them is Love, Actually followed by Die Hard. Why? Alan Rickman is in both. If you look at what his character does in the first, one could say that what happens to his character in the second is poetic justice. I know. That’s a stretch. But admit it, the concept made you smile.

The Holiday is also on my list, despite the fact that none of the four lead actors are particular favorites of mine. There’s just something about the story that grabs me. Plus there’s a wonderful subplot involving an elderly screenwriter.

Well before any of those movies were made, and before DVDs and streaming were even invented, I regularly watched both White Christmas and Holiday Inn on network TV. I had a little thing for Bing Crosby growing up. These days I find scenes in both that are cringeworthy, but still watch. I have a definite preference for the latter, but that could be because it has Fred Astaire as well as Bing Crosby. I fast forward through the Lincoln’s Birthday number. Blackface wasn’t considered demeaning when the movie was made, but times and attitudes change.

Moving on to books, there are plenty of Christmas titles out there, including several I wrote myself, but my hands-on favorite, and a definite annual reread, is Charlotte MacLeod’s Rest You Merry. It’s irreverent, funny, and the first book in her wonderful Peter Shandy series.

I’ll probably reread at least one of Donna Andrews’ Christmas mysteries, too. The trick will be picking which title, since she adds one to her Meg Langslow series every year. I’ve already read this year’s (Let it Crow! Let it Crow! Let it Crow!), which came out in October, and it did not disappoint.

What about you, readers? Do you have “traditional” Christmas watches and reads?

Kathy Lynn Emerson/Kaitlyn Dunnett has had sixty-four books traditionally published and has self published others. She won the Agatha Award and was an Anthony and Macavity finalist for best mystery nonfiction of 2008 for How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries and was an Agatha Award finalist in 2015 in the best mystery short story category. In 2023 she won the Lea Wait Award for “excellence and achievement” from the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. She was the Malice Domestic Guest of Honor in 2014. She is currently working on creating new omnibus e-book editions of her backlist titles. Her website is www.KathyLynnEmerson.com.